The Whole Eternity in One Minute
by Selena Hufflepuff
Summary: His eyes fell on another single person sitting on a corner. A person that, he was certain, didn’t judge him by his appearance, a person that was nice and funny… a person like him.


Disclaimer: Characters and places belong to J. K. Rowling ;)

Summary: his eyes fell on another single person sitting on a corner. A person that, he was certain, didn't judge him by his appearance, a person that was nice and funny… a person like him.

A/N: This was written for a challenge on Sacred Bookshelf (check the link I my profile . )

These were the rules:

This is a fanfiction competition in which you are to write a fanfic that somehow uses the theme "Love is in the air." It can be any pairing and any characters.

Theme: Love is in the air  
Genre: Romance  
Rating: T or under.  
Word limit: 1000-3000

The Whole Eternity in One Minute

Neville Longbotton was feeling a little disgruntled as he gazed across the garden, sitting on his chair. It was a beautiful afternoon of summer and the Burrow had never been so inviting. The garden was wonderfully decorated; from where he was he could see two small statues of marble; the scent of the white roses was sweet and fresh and he could hear the sound of water running nearby. It could have been a perfect day if he wasn't feeling so down.

It was Bill and Fleur's wedding and he had been surprised when he had received the invitation; sure enough he was one of Ron's friends but he had no connection to the couple. He couldn't stop thinking that he had been inviting because people pitied him; and the fact was that he was sitting alone while everyone else was having the time of their lives, and that was only making him feel worse.

Bill and Fleur were completely elated; and here and there happy couples were kissing, holding hands or talking quietly. Neville observed Ron and Hermione closely; they were both laughing while playing with the water and it was clear enough that they had passed the boundaries of friendship. There had been a time when he had had a huge crush on her but he had known all along that she loved Ron; so he had given up without even trying. He was such a coward, no wonder no one wanted to be with him. Tired to see their happiness Neville averted his gaze only to find Harry and Ginny talking quietly, almost out of his sight. He knew that they had broken up but he was sure that they would get back together sooner or later. Ginny… he had had a soft spot for her during fifth year. But he knew that he was not good enough for her and that he would never be. That was the problem; he would never be good enough for anyone.

_Love is in the air; not the air I'm breathing though _he thought gloomily. Neville tried to think about something else but wherever he looked there they were, happy couples haunting him with their laughter. Even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, unlike him, looked like they would explode from happiness.

"Why am I the only one who doesn't have anybody?" he murmured dryly. He actually had tried to invite Parvati to dance but both her and Lavender were feeling too tired for that, or so they said, he thought unhappily. He had never had luck with girls anyway; the first time he had been brave enough to ask someone out, Hermione had said that she couldn't. The first time he had actually gone out with someone, Ginny as a matter of fact, things hadn't gone well. He sighed in frustration; would he ever be able to find someone nice that wouldn't judge him by his appearance? Someone who liked him for who he really was; who would admire him even though he was not handsome, smart or brave enough?

A sudden explosion of laughter made him look to where Fred and George were plotting some prank and his eyes fell on another single person sitting on a corner. A person that, he was certain, didn't judge him by his appearance, a person that was nice and funny… a person like him.

_Luna Lovegood! _He thought to himself _Why not? _Why would they both be alone if they could be together? They were friends; they had been friends for a long time actually. They had been through so much together and he was sure that she wouldn't push him away if he talked to her; like other girls would do. Suddenly he perceived that he really liked her; more than that, he was very attached to Luna. Why haven't he noticed that before? He thought astounded at his discovery as he gazed at the girl with long blond hair that wasstaring at the dancing couples with a light smile on her lips.

The urge that he felt to talk to her, to be with her in that moment was so strong that, without really thinking about it, he stood up and strode decidedly on his friend's direction.

"Nice party isn't it?" he asked trying to sound casual as he sat on a chair next to Luna.

"Yes, yes it is." She answered abstractedly without even looking at him but Neville wouldn't give up that easily. Not when he had decided that he would have as much fun in that party as everybody else was having.

"Last time I was in one of this it was in my fourth year at Hogwarts." he confessed with a long sigh but that seemed to have caught Luna's attention and she turned are big blue eyes to Neville, studying his face closely. That really made him feel nervous but he stood still, bravely waiting for the moment to pass. But when Luna talked, at last, he almost fell off his chair from the shock caused by what she said.

"Do you still like her?" she asked and her face was emotionless which made the question even harder to answer.

"W-what? Like whom?" he asked while he started fidgeting his hands nervously.

"Ginny, of course; I know you gave up on Hemione long ago." Neville was so taken aback by her words that he just stared wordless at the girl in front of him. Luna's features however were still expressionless. How did she know about all of those things? He had never told a soul about his deepest feelings.

"Was I so obvious?" he asked deciding that he shouldn't deny it for she looked like she really knew what she was talking about. He was feeling even more depressed than before he had started talking to Luna. Maybe he should have just stayed alone in his own world; maybe it wasn't meant to be… maybe he would never find someone who would understand him after all…

"No, it wasn't obvious!" she answered plainly while returning her gaze to the group of dancing people "I just noticed because I like you." she finished displaying her knack for utter honesty and Neville stopped fidgeting his hands and looked at her feeling suddenly extremely anxious. She hadn't just said what he thought she had, had she? His head was spinning with the mere possibility of Luna liking him more than just a friend.

"What… what exactly do you mean by… _like_?" he asked with bravery and feeling strangely hopeful all of a sudden.

"I mean that you're a good friend." she started, still not facing him and Neville's self-confidence disappeared "You're always nice and you don't make fun of me, that's why I like you more than anybody else."

"Oh…" he merely murmured feeling so confused that he couldn't find anything else to say. He couldn't perceive in her attitude how much she liked him and suddenly he wanted to know. He desperately wanted to know if she liked him more than a friend. And he realized, all of a sudden, that it would be amazing if she really liked him; because she was sweet and nice… and pretty. And… and he might… he might also like her more than just a friend; he confessed if only to himself. He needed to know if she felt the same way but he was afraid to ask, so he just said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Do you want to dance with me?" he asked shyly and he felt his face burning but he wouldn't take back what he had just said.

"Oh…" she looked a little taken aback for the first time and he felt his courage return at full force. He wouldn't accept no for an answer "Oh… I don't like dancing all that much… but I can dance with you if you'd like." she answered with a bright smile and Neville felt his heart flutter strangely as he sighed in relief.

Neville grabbed Luna's hand, secretly relishing the felling of her small warm fingers which fit in his hand perfectly. While he led her to the place where the others were dancing he had never felt so nervous and so self-controlled at the same time.

When they started dancing slowly he couldn't help but notice how pretty she was looking. Luna had silky pale-blue dress robes and her hair looked so shinny and soft… even her eyes seemed brighter than usual. His heart was pounding faster on his chest and it almost exploded when she put her hands around his neck getting even closer to him.

Neville didn't know for how long they stood there, just holding onto another and floating in the garden. But he returned brusquely to the real world when Luna let go of him; leaving him cold and confused until he realized that Mr. Weasley was making a speech. He didn't hear a word of what was being said; the only thing that he could think off was that Luna was by his side. And that was all that mattered to him.

"Neville!" Luna's soft voice woke him up again and he gazed at her in wonder "Do you want to go for a walk?" she asked vaguely and Neville felt a stung of disappointment on his heart. He had just found out how much he liked this girl and she was acting almost coldly towards him.

"S-sure!" he agreed and tried not to search her expression as they walked in silence for a while, until they barely heard the voices at the party. He was afraid of what he would read in her eyes; he was afraid to find out that she didn't like him as much as he liked her. Lost in his thoughts Neville was startled when he felt Luna's hand grabbing his softly, almost tenderly. He took a deep breath and felt hope arising like a Phoenix from the ashes of his burned heart.

"Luna I…" he started hesitantly "T-thank you for dancing with me." he stammered nervously for she was so close that he could feel the sent of her delicate perfume mingled in the air; something he hadn't noticed before. And suddenly he realized that he wanted to kiss her, he wanted to kiss her so much that he was finding it hard to control himself. If he had courage enough he would have done it in that exact moment. But he couldn't find the courage to do it. Neville gazed longingly into her bright blue eyes and she gazed at his. It was the strongest feeling he had ever felt, it was powerful and overwhelming. The whole garden had disappeared from his sight, he couldn't hear anything but her breathing; he couldn't see anything apart from her and the only thing he could feel was her warm breath on his skin causing shivers to run up his body.

He wished she would just kiss him and, in that moment, Luna stood on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the lips. It was a quick kiss but Neville felt his head spinning again; it was a bliss he had never experienced before. And the only thing he could think of was… more. So as Luna was breaking apart he held her face fervently and brought their lips together in a long and deep kiss, pulling her closer to him. Neville was stunned by his own gesture; he had never thought that he would be able to do such thing but he didn't care. He just wanted to stay there forever, never letting Luna go. He was completely overwhelmed by that feeling and when she put her arms around him kissing him back without any hint of hesitation it felt like perfection. He let himself drift away in the tide of emotions, drenching in waves of blazing love.

When, after what seemed like the whole eternity in one minute, they broke the kiss; it took him a while to perceive that he had heard someone gasping nearby.

Breathing heavily and with his heart beating so fast that it hurt, he found it hard to take his eyes away from Luna. She was more beautiful than ever, with an expression of pure delight in her usually distracted features. But when he heard someone murmuring behind him, Neville forced himself to look around only to find Parvati and Lavender staring at them in utter awe. Any other day Neville would have felt embarrassed for having been caught in that situation; but right then he was feeling extremely confident. He smiled back at the girls and grabbed Luna's hand taking her back to the party. Yes, love was in the air indeed and… after all, it seemed like he had been breathing it.

A/N: Please read and review… oh, and wish me luck for the contest, lol.


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